National
Consumer Protection Week – Announcement
#2New Jersey
Division of Consumer Affairs and Bergen
County Team Up to Warn Unregistered Home
Improvement Contractors

NEWARK
– As part of National Consumer Protection
Week activities, State and Bergen County Consumer
Affairs investigators today went to a Paramus
business that sells contractor supplies and
issued warnings to home improvement contractors
allegedly operating outside of State consumer
protection laws.

Since
2006, the New Jersey Contractors’
Registration Act and Home Improvement Contractor
Regulations require home improvement contractors
to register with the state and obtain a
registration number. To register, a home
improvement contractor must provide proof
of liability insurance, disclose a legitimate
business address, and provide other information
about the business. Contractors must display
the registration number on all contracts,
advertisements, and commercial vehicles
as a reference for consumers.

“Homeowners
depend on this long-standing law, and we
will not tolerate home improvement contractors
who insist on flouting it,” Attorney
General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said. “Unregistered
home improvement contractors should know
that not only are they violating New Jersey’s
consumer protection laws, they’re
also committing a 4th degree crime.”

The
five warnings issued today provide a 30-day
period for the home improvement contractor
to register without penalty or to provide
proof of compliance with the law. After
this period, if neither action occurs, the
contractor will be issued a Notice of Violation
that carries a civil penalty of up to $10,000
for a first offense.

Home
improvement-related complaints were the
largest category of complaints received
by the Division of Consumer Affairs last
year.

“Consumers
need to remain vigilant for fly-by-night
con men posing as home improvement contractors.
With over 930 consumer complaints related
to contractors in 2011, the problems and
risks posed by those contractors operating
outside our consumer protection laws is
not going away,” said Thomas R. Calcagni,
Director of the State Division of Consumer
Affairs. “Our State and County Consumer
Affairs Investigators are committed to protecting
homeowners from home improvement scams that
can cost them tens of thousands of dollars.”

The
State Division of Consumer Affairs and county
consumer affairs offices cracked down on
unregistered home improvement contractors
throughout 2011. More than 60 unregistered
home improvement contractors were charged
as a result of the effort, which included
mobile enforcement initiatives in each of
the 21 counties and two undercover houses
where suspected unregistered contractors
were invited to give estimates for work.

Advice
for New Jersey Consumers:

Before hiring a home improvement contractor,
New Jersey consumers are urged to:

Obtain the contractor's State registration
number, which always begins "13VH."

Contact the State Division of Consumer
Affairs to learn whether the contractor's
registration is still valid. Call the
Division’s License Verification
Line at 973-273-8090,
or check the Division's database of all
43,000 registered home improvement contractors
at www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov/LVinfo.htm
.

Ask the State Division of Consumer Affairs
whether there are any consumer complaints
filed against the contractor.

National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)
is a coordinated campaign that encourages
consumers nationwide to take full advantage
of their consumer rights and make better-informed
decisions. NCPW 2012 runs from March 4 through
10 and additional information is available
at www.NCPW.gov
.

Consumers
who believe they have been cheated or scammed
by a business, or suspect any other form
of marketplace abuse, can file a complaint
with the New Jersey Division of Consumer
Affairs by visiting its website
or by calling 1-800-242-5846
(toll free within New Jersey ) or 973-504-6200.